Dos Rios water plan

Piping spring flow from Dos Rios to reservoir
could run afoul of Wild and Scenic Rivers Act

by Glenda Anderson
The Press Democrat
October 12, 2007

[excerpt:] A decade after Mendocino County Supervisor John Pinches first proposed piping water from a protected portion of the Eel River to as far south as Ukiah, the much maligned plan is getting a little financial support.

The Board of Supervisors last month voted 3-2 to spend up to $50,000 to study taking water from the main fork of the Eel River near Dos Rios during early spring high-river flows.

But the proposal continues to draw fire from other local officials and environmentalists, who say it’s ill-advised and illegal to try to divert a significant amount of water from that part of the river, which has both state and federal designations as “wild and scenic.”

. . .

The so-called Dos Rios Project study will include an exploration of whether it’s possible to get a license to take large quantities of water from a river designated as wild and scenic, said Roland Sanford, director of the county’s water agency.

It appears the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act allows water to be taken for domestic use by residents living adjacent to the river, but piping it elsewhere in large quantities is delving into unchartered waters, he said.